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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 10, 2002

Saudi FM: International Community Should Respect Will of Palestinians to Choose Their Leadership

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal stressed Wednesday in Cairo that the international community should respect the will of the Palestinians to choose their leadership.


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Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal stressed Wednesday in Cairo that the international community should respect the will of the Palestinians to choose their leadership.

"Saudi Arabia will deal with anyone whoever is chosen by the Palestinian people as their leader," Faisal said in an interview with Xinhua before his departure for Syria.

"It is totally untrue that the United States has been in contactwith Egypt and Saudi Arabia to select someone to replace Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Yasser Arafat," he said.

Earlier in the day, Faisal met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on ways to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and restartpeace talks between the two sides.

During the meeting, Faisal also conveyed to Mubarak a verbal message from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz on the latest Mideast situation.

Faisal's visit to Egypt was part of consultations that Egypt hasheld with leaders of other Arab countries on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and US President George W. Bush's recent speech onthe Mideast peace process.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two heavyweights in the Mideast region, have been keeping close contacts on ways to solve the Mideast crisis.

As for Bush's speech, Faisal said that there are a lot of elements in it, some of which are clear and positive, while demanding clarifications on some points, especially on the issues of a Palestinian statehood and the current Palestinian leadership.

In his June 24 speech, Bush conditioned the establishment of a Palestinian state on the change of the current Palestinian leadership.

During his short visit to Kuwait on Tuesday, Faisal termed Bush's Sunday statement on the PNA as "positive and necessary" at the moment.

Bush told a press conference on Sunday that he can "make progress" in the PNA's reform process, and the United States will continue its diplomatic efforts even if Arafat remains in power.

"I consider Bush's statement as positive, because he welcomed the Palestinian reforms and confirmed Washington's committment to the Mideast peace process," Faisal said.

During his interview with Xinhua, Faisal also warned against Israel's aggressive acts in the Palestinian lands, saying that suchIsraeli practices have threatened the ongoing peace efforts.

"If the international community could not take immediate measures to stop the Israeli practices, a catastrophic aftermath will occur," he said.




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